“Man… that battle was awesome,” Flamma said as he drank the fruit juice that was made by Marie, the Head Maid of the Ousborne Family. “How about the two of us have a rematch? This time, you’re not allowed to summon anything. Also, Eiko is not allowed to help you. What do you think?”

“I think you didn’t suffer enough beating last time,” Lux replied as he fed Eiko a sandwich. “But, you don’t have to worry. I’m sure you will have your turn when we go to the Domain of the Fallen.”

“I’m actually looking forward to this Sacred Dungeon Adventure. When are we going?”

“In a few weeks. I need to return to my hometown first. There are a few things that I need to handle by myself.”

Lux didn’t tell the Half-Orc that he was very eager to return to see his Fiance, as well as celebrate his birthday with her.

He was about to turn seventeen, and it made him reminisce about the times when he trained to prepare for the trial that would give him the chance to go to Elysium.

All of those depressing days were now behind him, and although many things were happening all around him, he couldn’t help but feel blessed to be where he was now.

“Sir Lux, what is your hometown like?” Alexa asked. “If I remember correctly, the world you belong to is called Solais, right?”

Emily, who was also eating some sandwiches glanced in the direction of the Half-Elf. Clearly, she was very eager to hear about the world of the Foreigners who regularly visited Elysium.

“Our world is similar to Elysium,” Lux replied. “However, it has undergone a Hundred-Year War, which made several locations barren and uninhabitable. There are also areas that are restricted because the lands beyond them reek of diseases, plagues, and Monsters that are said to have been corrupted by the land itself.”

Emily, who had just finished her sandwich, asked Lux another question, which almost all Elysians wanted to ask.

“Can we go to your world?” Emily asked. “Foreigners can visit our world, but can we do the same and visit your world?”

Lux didn’t answer right away as he pondered this question. As far as history went, Elysians couldn’t go to Solais.

Many Solaians, who had found their significant other in Elysium, had tried to bring their lover to their own world.

Unfortunately, none of those attempts succeed. Currently, there was no way for Elysians to go to Solais. Only Solaians were able to travel freely between the two worlds, and it had been that way since the first time they were able to go to Elysium.

“Perhaps there is a way,” Lux replied after careful consideration. “However, we haven’t discovered how you guys can come to our world. Maybe in the future, you guys can also travel freely between worlds. But, I’ll tell you this, Elysium is much better than the current Solais.”

Solais was a dying world, and according to Eriol, it didn’t have much time left. This was why the God of Gamblers and the God of Games collaborated in order to create the Heaven’s Gate Project.

They had tasked Lux to find a way to save the dying world from destruction and give it a chance at rebirth.

Leah, who had been feeding her baby slime, Holly, a sandwich, looked at the Half-Elf and asked him a question.

“Big Brother, do you have a lover?” Leah asked in an innocent tone.

Flamma, Alexa, Emily, and Marie perked up their ears as they waited for Lux’s answer, like old aunties looking for a fresh bit of juicy gossip.

“I have a Fiance,” Lux replied. “Her name is Iris. She is also Eiko’s Mama.”

“Ma!” Eiko nodded her head.

Leah looked at the Half-Elf with an innocent smile as she asked another question.

“What is she like?” Leah inquired.

“She’s sweet, kind, loyal, and loves me very much,” Lux answered.

“Is she more beautiful than my Big Sister, Alexa?”

“Both of them are beautiful. No one is better than the other.”

Emily giggled after hearing Lux’s reply. Clearly, the Half-Elf used a “safe” answer in order to not offend her little sister, Leah, who was asking Lux unreasonable questions.

“Is she strong?” Flamma asked. “My mother is strong. That’s why she’s the Orc Chieftain. She always punches and kicks my father, and he doesn’t have the strength to hit her back.”

“Well, she is strong in her own way,” Lux replied with a mischievous smile. “She puts up a good fight.”

Whenever the Half-Elf made love with his fiance, he noticed that Iris’ stamina was slowly matching his own. Because of this, they were able to do it many times, while hiding under the blanket to prevent Eiko from seeing the two of them do it like bunnies.

“Brother, bring her next time, okay?” Leah asked. “I want to meet her as well.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Lux replied as he patted Leah’s head. “I’m sure the two of you will get along really well.”

When their lunch ended, Lux went to find the Kobolds who were mining underground to check on the things that they had collected while he was away.

He had asked Garret to accompany him because the Great General would be in charge of their Guild Headquarters whenever Lux was dealing with things outside of the Outer Reaches.

Simply put, Garret was now his steward, and he believed that, with the latter at the helm, his dream of converting the floating island into a thriving city would become a reality.

“Amazing,” Garret said as he looked at the piled-up ores, as well as raw gems, in the Kobold’s make-shift treasury under the ground. “With this, we will be able to arm our soldiers to the teeth. There are also enough gems to trade for gold, food, and other materials that we will need to build the village at the base of the mountain.

“If the King of my Kingdom was able to see this much Draconium Ore and Aenarium, he would definitely welcome me back with open arms,” Garret stated. “Are you sure you trust me enough to share this secret with me?”

“Of course,” Lux replied. “Do you know the Dragon King? We are best buds. He can easily destroy a Kingdom just by lifting a finger.”

Garret rubbed his chin as he eyed the red-headed teenager who was inspecting the number of resources they currently had.

“What is his Rank?” Garret inquired.

“Supreme,” Lux replied in a heartbeat. “What do you think? Do you still feel like betraying me?”

The Half-Elf gave the Great General a devilish smile, which made the latter chuckle. Now that Garret was part of his Covenant, his loyalty was ensured.

No member of the Necromancer’s Covenant could betray their Lord. Doing so would be a folly because their souls would be under his mercy.

With that said, Garret had no intention of betraying Lux’s trust. Now that he was a member of Heaven’s Gate, he would use all of his expertise to make sure that it would become the strongest Guild in existence.

‘Too bad, we don’t have a Saint in the Guild,’ Garret thought. ‘If we did, we would no longer have to keep a low profile.’

The Great General understood that they currently didn’t have the strength to protect their Guild’s secret.

Two days later, when Gerhart had recovered enough to travel, he and Lux returned to Solais, leaving Elysium for the time being.

Now that the issue with the Transcendent Flames had been dealt with, Randolph, Grandma Annie, Laura, and Livia, had begun practicing their crafting abilities in order to create better weapons, armor, potions, pills, and other consumables that would help the Guild Members increase their ranks.

Even though Lux could summon the Orcs and the Dryads to help him anytime, he still wanted to have his own fighting force and not rely on them too much.

Right now, Heaven’s Gate had a Human army that numbered 500 strong. Originally, Lux thought that all of them were Initiates, but he was wrong.

Out of the 500 Soldiers, only 100 were Initiates, with some at the peak of the Apostle Rank.

Only after joining Lux’s Guild did the Apostles all become Initiates. In time, these Initiates would all become Rankers, further boosting the Half-Elf’s military might.

Just the thought of having 500 Low-Rankers under his direct command was enough to make Lux feel smug.

Although this number was nothing compared to the number of Rankers each Kingdom possessed, it was still a decent amount, allowing him to be of the same level as an Overlord.

“Let’s go back, Eiko,” Lux said as he patted the Baby Slime on his head. “Let’s go meet Iris.”

“Ma!” Eiko happily replied as the Half-Elf pressed his closed fist over his chest.

“Open!” Lux declared. “Heaven’s Gate!”

A moment later, he and Gerhart disappeared from their Guild Headquarters and reappeared in Lux’s old home in Wildgarde Stronghold.

While this was happening, the Six Kingdoms, the Skystead Alliance, and the Xynnar War Pact were all gathering their talented youths that would accompany Lux in clearing the last gate of the Sacred Dungeon.

They believed that when all the Four Gates had been conquered, the final Gate of the Apocalypse would open, allowing them to gain something that had been lost through the passage of time.

————-

Capital City of the Vahan Empire…

“Malcolm and Nero, both of you will follow my son’s orders,” Emperor Andreas said while sitting on his throne. “It is of the most importance that you follow his every command without asking why or refusing it. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Malcolm replied. “I won’t let you down.”

“I will heed your orders, Your Majesty.” Nero bowed his head respectfully. “I shall follow the Prince’s orders without fail.”

Emperor Andreas nodded his head with satisfaction before shifting his gaze to his son, who had blue hair and eyes.

He was the Second Prince of the Vahan Empire, Prince Cyrus, and he stood nearly two meters tall, towering over Malcolm and Nero, who were kneeling in front of him.

A sinister smile could be seen on the young man’s face and his eyes, covered with a tint of bloodlust, were looking forward to seeing what kind of Monsters he would face inside the Domain of the Fallen.